Tehran, Kabul stress boosting security cooperation

Senior Iranian and Afghan security officials discussed on Wednesday ways to boost the joint efforts between Tehran and Kabul to tackle terrorism and ensure sustainable security in Afghanistan.

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani and the National Security Advisor to Afghanistan’s president, Hamdullah Mohib, met on the sidelines of the 10th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues in the Russian city of Ufa on Wednesday.

During the meeting, both sides highlighted the importance of increasing coordinated efforts between Afghanistan and its neighboring countries to counter terrorism and contribute to the process of national reconciliation in Afghanistan.

They also stressed the need for contacts and communication between the region’s influential countries and the Afghan opposition groups in coordination with the government of Afghanistan.

The two officials also discussed plans to strengthen the Afghan military forces for establishing sustainable security in all parts of Afghanistan.

In another meeting held in Ufa on Tuesday, the six neighboring countries of Afghanistan agreed to hold their second meeting on Afghan security in Tehran once again later this year.

The top security officials of Iran, Russia, China, Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan stressed the continuation of joint efforts in support of peace and security in Afghanistan.

They also called for the implementation of the agreements reached in the first edition of their meeting in Tehran last year.

Shamkhani, who was heading Iranian delegation in the meeting, called on the neighboring countries of Afghanistan to increase their contacts with the opposition Afghan groups in coordination with the legitimate Afghan government in order to limit the intervention of other countries from beyond the region in this country’s crisis.